Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Pro-life or Pro-choice?

Abortion I believe will always be a controversial topic, whether you have a personal experience, religious views, political views, etc. people will always have different opinions. Taking courses such as American Studies, Bioethics and now Women's Studies abortion has always been a topic I never found myself to be able to fully choose a side. Growing up, I lived with my grandparents who have strong religious views who forced me to attend CCD classes and church weekly. According to my Christian views, God put men and women on this Earth to conceive children and by having an abortion you would be committing a sin. Abortion is opposed because life is sacred and inviolable. During bioethics when we watched a video of a women describing the process of abortion and horror stories women went through to have an abortion. Women put their own lives at risks because they couldn't legally get abortions or their state wouldn't allow them to for certain reasons like age or parental consent. When I heard these stories I have the mind set of, "how could someone do that?"Although I can understand the religious views on abortion, so many factors come into play that I can't be single-minded.Personally, I am pro-choice because if a women unexpectedly gets pregnant, she should have options, If a woman is at a time in her life where she could not handle having a child emotionally and financially or it wouldn't be safe for the life of the child, I believe the option for abortion should be available. The fact that in the 1960's women were only allowed to have an abortion whether they were raped or the child put the mother at risk is unfair. I find it uncomfortable knowing that someone other than yourself can tell you what to do with your own body, especially something like nine months of pregnancy! Although I do agree with the result Roe vs. Wade, where abortion is only allowed by trimesters, I believe with technology furthering as the years progress we will have to dig a little deeper with the guidelines. Referring back to information covered in bioethics, third trimester abortions are far more dangerous procedures and carry serious risks of complication. The majority of third trimester abortions are due to the discovery of a catastrophic fetal anomaly or genetic disorder that guarantees death, suffering, or serious disability for the baby that would be delivered if the pregnancy were to continue to full term.The subject of privacy was mentioned during Mr. Doggett's presentation which made me think of if a women follows through with an abortion, the emotional aftermath. My hope for the future is that states stop closing down abortion clinics and that we are more educated on options for when and if you become pregnant. Women today feel ashamed and guilty getting abortions because society looks down upon it. Due to freedom of speech, citizens are allowed to picket in front of clinics with signs and are able to shout horrible things such as, "murder," which would discourage and prevent anyone from stepping feet from the clinic. Bottom line, I believe not only women but men should be aware and educated of abortions and other options available to them so if the time comes they do not feel trapped in a situation. I believe that if a government, which is predominately all male, should have a say but not rule on how a women can control her body. Men do not have to go through child birth or the nine months of pregnancy and go to doctor visits and check ups, although I'm sure many accompany during these events, it's not the same. Everyone is allowed an opinion in life, but you should take the time to understand and see both sides of the situation. If you or someone expresses their opinion, please respect it whether you agree or not.